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Press Releases
The Orchestra Now Opens Two New York City Series with Three December Concerts
Annandale-on Hudson, New York, NY, December 7, 2016 - The Orchestra Now (TON) launches two of its 2016-17 New York City series with three concerts in December. TON begins the month by opening its Carnegie Hall season on December 9 with Denounced!, a program focusing on Russian composers whose music was viewed as inappropriate during the communist regime. Leon Botstein will conduct the performance with soprano Ilana Davidson, mezzo-soprano Katharine Goeldner, and tenor Sergey Polyakov as soloists. Later in the month, the Orchestra starts its crowd-pleasing Around Town series of FREE classical music concerts with performances in Harlem and the Bronx, led by conductor JoAnn Falletta with mezzo Susan Platts on December 16 and 18, respectively.
TON at Carnegie Hall
The first TON at Carnegie Hall program of the season, titled Denounced!, surveys three great Russian composers whose works were denounced in the 1948 Zhdanov decree and deemed politically incorrect because they displayed tendencies alien to the Soviet people. Shostakovich's song cycle From Jewish Folk Poetry used texts from Jewish folksongs, and so the 1948 work was not publicly premiered until after the anti-Semitism of the time had abated. That same year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party issued a declaration condemning recent works by Prokofiev and Shostakovich, as well as several other composers. The evening's notable guest soloists include four-time Grammy Award-winning American soprano IIana Davidson; mezzo-soprano Katherine Goeldner, who has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera under both James Levine and Valery Gergiev; and tenor Sergey Polyakiov, a leading soloist at Moscow's Novaya Opera who has also appeared at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg.
The next TON at Carnegie Hall performance will focus on Italian composers in an evening offering works by Respighi and Wolf-Ferrari on March 17, 2017.
TON at Carnegie Hall
Denounced!, Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 7:30 PM, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage Leon Botstein, conductor Ilana Davidson, soprano Katharine Goeldner, mezzo-soprano Sergey Polyakov, tenor Nikolai Myaskovsky: Symphony No. 25 Shostakovich: From Jewish Folk Poetry Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6
Tickets, beginning at $25, may be purchased online at www.carnegiehall.org, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800, or in person at the Carnegie hall box office at 57th Street 7th Avenue.
Around Town Free Concerts in December
TON kicks off the second season of its popular Around Town series with free concerts in Harlem (December 16) and the Bronx (December 18), led by conductor JoAnn Falletta, music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Virginia Symphony and principal guest conductor of the Brevard Music Center. Renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Platts, who has appeared at Teatro alla Scala, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center, is the guest soloist. The program will present two different composers' versions of the Scheherazade tale along with Nielsen's captivating Aladdin Suite. These free community outreach events have become engaging neighborhood activities and are a great opportunity to introduce families and new explorers to the joys of classical music.
TON will continue its free Around Town concerts in New York City boroughs with performances in Brooklyn (March 5, 2017), and Queens (April 2, 2017).
Around Town
Harlem: Aaron Davis Hall Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 7 PM
The Bronx: Lehman Center for the Performing Arts Sun, Dec 18, 2016 at 3 PM
JoAnn Falletta, conductor Susan Platts, mezzo-soprano Carl Nielsen: Aladdin Suite Ravel: Shéhérazade Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Tickets: All Around Town concerts are FREE and General Admission. RSVP can be made at www.theorchestranow.org, but advance reservations are not required.
The Orchestra Now
Founded in 2015, The Orchestra Now (TON) is an innovative pre-professional orchestra and master's degree program at Bard College that is preparing a new generation of musicians to break down barriers between modern audiences and great orchestral music of the past and present. Under the leadership of conductor, educator, and music historian Leon Botstein, TON mines the wealth of underperformed repertoire, reimagines traditional concert formats, and strives to make the experience of the performers a part of the listeners' experience. At a TON concert, musicians and audience inspire one another, each following their curiosity with a shared sense of adventure.
The musicians of TON hail from across the U.S. and eleven other countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Spain, Taiwan and Venezuela. In addition to a concert series at their home base-the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College-they perform multiple concerts each season at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and offer complimentary concerts at venues across the boroughs of New York City in the Around Town series. At The Metropolitan Museum of Art they join Leon Botstein in the series Sight & Sound as he explores the places where musical and visual expression meet, pairing orchestral works with masterpieces from the museum's collection.
In addition to Mr. Botstein and TON's Associate Conductor and Academic Director, James Bagwell, guest conductors in the first two seasons include Fabio Luisi, Gerard Schwarz, and JoAnn Falletta.
For more information, visit www.theorchestranow.org.
Leon Botstein
Leon Botstein brings a renowned career as both a conductor and educator to his role as music director of The Orchestra Now, the pre-professional orchestra and master's degree program founded by Bard College. He has been music director of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992, artistic co-director of Bard SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival since their creation, and president of Bard College since 1975. He was the music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra from 2003-2011, and is now conductor laureate. He will assume the artistic directorship of Grafenegg, Austria in 2018. Mr. Botstein is also a frequent guest conductor with orchestras around the globe, has made numerous recordings, and is a prolific author and music historian. He is the editor of the prestigious The Musical Quarterly, and has received many honors for his contributions to music.
More info online at LeonBotsteinMusicRoom.com.
Press Contacts: Pascal Nadon Pascal Nadon Communications Phone: 646.234.7088 Email: pascal@pascalnadon.com
TON at Carnegie Hall
The first TON at Carnegie Hall program of the season, titled Denounced!, surveys three great Russian composers whose works were denounced in the 1948 Zhdanov decree and deemed politically incorrect because they displayed tendencies alien to the Soviet people. Shostakovich's song cycle From Jewish Folk Poetry used texts from Jewish folksongs, and so the 1948 work was not publicly premiered until after the anti-Semitism of the time had abated. That same year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party issued a declaration condemning recent works by Prokofiev and Shostakovich, as well as several other composers. The evening's notable guest soloists include four-time Grammy Award-winning American soprano IIana Davidson; mezzo-soprano Katherine Goeldner, who has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera under both James Levine and Valery Gergiev; and tenor Sergey Polyakiov, a leading soloist at Moscow's Novaya Opera who has also appeared at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg.
The next TON at Carnegie Hall performance will focus on Italian composers in an evening offering works by Respighi and Wolf-Ferrari on March 17, 2017.
TON at Carnegie Hall
Denounced!, Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 7:30 PM, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage Leon Botstein, conductor Ilana Davidson, soprano Katharine Goeldner, mezzo-soprano Sergey Polyakov, tenor Nikolai Myaskovsky: Symphony No. 25 Shostakovich: From Jewish Folk Poetry Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6
Tickets, beginning at $25, may be purchased online at www.carnegiehall.org, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800, or in person at the Carnegie hall box office at 57th Street 7th Avenue.
Around Town Free Concerts in December
TON kicks off the second season of its popular Around Town series with free concerts in Harlem (December 16) and the Bronx (December 18), led by conductor JoAnn Falletta, music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Virginia Symphony and principal guest conductor of the Brevard Music Center. Renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Platts, who has appeared at Teatro alla Scala, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center, is the guest soloist. The program will present two different composers' versions of the Scheherazade tale along with Nielsen's captivating Aladdin Suite. These free community outreach events have become engaging neighborhood activities and are a great opportunity to introduce families and new explorers to the joys of classical music.
TON will continue its free Around Town concerts in New York City boroughs with performances in Brooklyn (March 5, 2017), and Queens (April 2, 2017).
Around Town
Harlem: Aaron Davis Hall Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 7 PM
The Bronx: Lehman Center for the Performing Arts Sun, Dec 18, 2016 at 3 PM
JoAnn Falletta, conductor Susan Platts, mezzo-soprano Carl Nielsen: Aladdin Suite Ravel: Shéhérazade Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Tickets: All Around Town concerts are FREE and General Admission. RSVP can be made at www.theorchestranow.org, but advance reservations are not required.
The Orchestra Now
Founded in 2015, The Orchestra Now (TON) is an innovative pre-professional orchestra and master's degree program at Bard College that is preparing a new generation of musicians to break down barriers between modern audiences and great orchestral music of the past and present. Under the leadership of conductor, educator, and music historian Leon Botstein, TON mines the wealth of underperformed repertoire, reimagines traditional concert formats, and strives to make the experience of the performers a part of the listeners' experience. At a TON concert, musicians and audience inspire one another, each following their curiosity with a shared sense of adventure.
The musicians of TON hail from across the U.S. and eleven other countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Spain, Taiwan and Venezuela. In addition to a concert series at their home base-the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College-they perform multiple concerts each season at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and offer complimentary concerts at venues across the boroughs of New York City in the Around Town series. At The Metropolitan Museum of Art they join Leon Botstein in the series Sight & Sound as he explores the places where musical and visual expression meet, pairing orchestral works with masterpieces from the museum's collection.
In addition to Mr. Botstein and TON's Associate Conductor and Academic Director, James Bagwell, guest conductors in the first two seasons include Fabio Luisi, Gerard Schwarz, and JoAnn Falletta.
For more information, visit www.theorchestranow.org.
Leon Botstein
Leon Botstein brings a renowned career as both a conductor and educator to his role as music director of The Orchestra Now, the pre-professional orchestra and master's degree program founded by Bard College. He has been music director of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992, artistic co-director of Bard SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival since their creation, and president of Bard College since 1975. He was the music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra from 2003-2011, and is now conductor laureate. He will assume the artistic directorship of Grafenegg, Austria in 2018. Mr. Botstein is also a frequent guest conductor with orchestras around the globe, has made numerous recordings, and is a prolific author and music historian. He is the editor of the prestigious The Musical Quarterly, and has received many honors for his contributions to music.
More info online at LeonBotsteinMusicRoom.com.
Press Contacts: Pascal Nadon Pascal Nadon Communications Phone: 646.234.7088 Email: pascal@pascalnadon.com
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